Lake Tahoe Trip: Meet Metro

7 July 1984

Everyone knows MGM’s famous logo, which features a roaring lion.  What most people don’t know is that the first logo was introduced in 1916 and that five different lions were used in the production of the logo since then — Slats, Jackie, Tanner, George, and Leo.  Leo, whose film career has long been over (captive lions live about 20 years) has been the star since 1957.  Sure, the logo has undergone some change over the years, but Leo has remained a fixture.  (Click here for more information if interested.)

Collage of MGM Logos from the Wikipedia article linked above.
Top Left: Jackie and Tanner
top right: george
Bottom left: Leo
bottom Right: Slats and logo spoof from tom & Jerry Cartoons

While in Reno, we stopped at the MGM and had a souvenir photograph taken with a lion named Metro — or so my notes say.

I assure you, that’s a real lion.

Mui tells me there was a glass wall between us and the big cat; I have no recollection either way.

Lake Tahoe Trip: Harrah’s Automobile Collection

7 July 1984

On our way back home from Lake Tahoe, we stopped in Reno, Nevada to check out Harrah’s Automobile Collection, now the National Automobile Museum.  Why?  Good question!  Neither one of us is an antique cars enthusiast, so I can only guess that we saw some signage along the way that caught our attention.

From the 1983 version of the brochure we picked up that day:

Harrah’s Automobile Collection began in 1948 with the acquisition of two cars, a 1911 Maxwell and a 1911 Ford.  Today the collection is the world’s largest, with over 1,000 antique, vintage, classic, and special interest cars on display.

You'll see virtually every significant technical achievement, including a 1906 Compound with power brakes and a 1940 Packard — the first car with air conditioning.  But it is more than an exhibition of technology.  It is also a collection of memories where you’ll find Al Jolson’s 1933 Cadillac, Tyrone Power’s 1930 Duesenberg, and the 1907 Thomas Flyer — famous winner of the 1908 New York-to-Paris Race.

Many of the cars on display have been faithfully restored in the Collection’s Restoration Shops.  Here, craftsmen make the cars not only look, but also perform, as they did on the day they were purchased by their first owners.

1911 Simplex Nine-Passenger Tourabout.

1917 Ford Model T Touring

Lincoln Model L-134B Coaching Brougham

1929 Mercedes-Benz Model SSK Drop-Head Coupe

1938 Phantom Corsair Experimental Six-Passenger Coupe
(Above and Below)

1973 Cadillac Custom El Dorado
38th birthday Gift to Elvis from his dad.  Later, given by Elvis to his
karate instructor, Kang Ree.

1981 De Lorean LK Sport Coupe

Lake Tahoe Trip: M/S Dixie

6 July 1984

It must surely be the fairest picture the whole world affords.

Mark Twain – 1862
(Upon seeing Lake Tahoe for the first time.)

After riding the rails in the morning (click here to read the post), we switched gears and spent the afternoon on a Lake Tahoe cruise aboard the sternwheeler M/S Dixie.

The M/S Dixie is ported in Zephyr Cove, about 21 miles (34 km) from Carson City.

From the brochure we received when we boarded the 360-passenger Dixie:

The hull of the Dixie was first built in 1927 on the Mississippi River, where it was used as a cotton barge until 1931. At that time it was moved to the Red River in Texas, where partial conversion was started in order to use the hull as a riverboat. The ship’s history about that time is cloudy, but in 1947 Jim Moss of Reno, a retired Mississippi riverboat captain, purchased the boat. He had it cut into four pieces and shipped to Reno by rail, then by truck to Cave Rock where it was reassembled.

(No photo of the Dixie; the one below is of M/S Dixie II, the sternwheeler that is currently cruising the waters of Lake Tahoe. Click the photo for more information about day cruises on the lake.)

Since the Dixie originated on the Mississippi, most people assume that she was named for the Southland. However, Mr. Moss named the ship for his daughter, Dixie Moss.

When Mr. Moss was approximately half-way through construction of what he hoped would be a cruise ship such as the Dixie is today, he applied for a gambling license in Carson City. When he was denied the license, he had to cancel his plans. He lost the boat in litigation, and rather than giving her up, he deliberately scuttled the Dixie at Cave Rock in 1949.

In December of that same year, she was raised from the bottom and taken to Logan Shoals Harbor in Glenbrook, where she was kept in storage for three years. In 1953, Ken and Margaret Amundson purchased her. The Dixie was used for offices and warehousing space for some five years. She was then converted into a family pleasure boat for weekend cruises with friends. At first a Buick engine was used to drive her paddle wheel.

During this time, the Dixie was seen in several national television series such as “State Trooper” and the long-running “Bonanza.” In 1970 the Dixie was pulled out of the water. It was widened, lengthened, and two decks were added. With this reconstruction complete, the Dixie made her maiden voyage in February 1972. Since that time Dixie hospitality has been extended to such distinguished groups as the National Governors Conference, and the joint party for the Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts.

After our cruise to Emerald Bay (on the California side of the lake), we returned to Carson City … but first, a quick stop at the Logan Shoals Overlook.

We had a great last day at Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe Trip: Riding the Rails

6 July 1984

Having toured the movie set that represented Virginia City on the TV Show Bonanza the previous day, we drove to the “real” Virginia City the next morning.  Like many of Nevada’s cities and towns, Virginia City was a mining boomtown.  It appeared virtually overnight as a result of the Comstock Lode silver strike of 1859.  The city was once the richest on earth, with more millionaires than anywhere else.

Local lore has it that Virginia City was named for James Finney — aka “Old Virginy” — who hailed from Virginia.  Finney, whose real name was James Fennimore, had fled Virginia after killing a man.  He is credited with discovering the Comstock Lode.

Virginia City is just 15 miles from Carson City.

Our goal wasn’t so much to visit the city as to take a train ride on the railroad that was built in 1869 to serve the silver mining communities of Nevada.  But first, we had to …

… spring Mui out of the Virginia City Territorial Prison of 1869!

Here’s how the brochure described our ride on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad:

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is by far the most famous of all American short lines.  In its heyday as many as 45 trains a day arrived and departed Virginia City.  A US president and dignitaries from the world over rode these trains.  The line was completed in 1869 and in the ensuing 70 years hauled millions of dollars in gold and silver ore from the mines of Virginia City.  Years after the last train left the Comstock, you can once again ride over this historic railroad.

Take a close look at the railroad bed between Virginia City and Carson City
and you’ll see why it earned the nickname “crookedest railroad.”

Our 35-minute train ride took us from the depot in Virginia City to Tunnel No.4 in Goldhill, where the Comstock Era gold strikes began.  The tunnel was one of five built for the 1600-foot (488 m) descent to the valley floor.

Ticket in hand, we're ready to ride the rails.

Engine #29, the “Robert C. Gray,” was built 1916.  It came to Virginia City in 1977.

We had a choice of sitting in the caboose or in the open car.
Guess which one we chose!

Short though the ride was, we enjoyed our trip back into history.  We kept an eye out for gold seams in the nearby hills, but alas … no luck.

Lake Tahoe Trip: Ponderosa Ranch (Part II)

5 July 1984

Our day at the Ponderosa Ranch of Bonanza fame started out with a horseback ride and a chuckwagon breakfast.  (Click here to read the post.)  Afterwards, we explored the would-be Virginia City and toured the Cartwright Ranch.

The long arm of the law has caught up to Mui.

Little Joe’s Horse

Hoss’ Mystery Mine — Is the room crooked, or is it us?

Welcome to the Cartwright Ranch House.

Hop-Sing at work.

The Ponderosa Ranch is no more.  Having outlived most of the series' original cast, it was permanently closed in 2004.

Lake Tahoe Trip: Ponderosa Ranch (Part I)

5 July 1984

On February 14, 1844, Captain John C. Fremont, aided by famed scout Kit Carson, became the first white man to discover Lake Tahoe.  Tahoe is an Indian word meaning “big water.”  History records that for 1500 years before Fremont, many Indian tribes used the shores of Tahoe as a summer retreat to escape the heat of the valleys below.  Taking a page out of their book, we headed to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July holiday.

After a long day’s drive and an overnight stay in a Motel 8 (with vibrating beds no less), we arrived in Carson City, Nevada on July 4.  After settling into our hotel, we drove around the lake, stopping at scenic overlooks to enjoy the views.  Our photos from the drive show just glimpses of Lake Tahoe visible through the trees; certainly nothing worth scanning for the blog.  We also visited Vikingsholm, a massive stone castle built in the 1920s on the California side of the lake.  No decent photos from that stop either, so I’ll just skip along to the second day of our trip.

608 miles (973 km) and a 9-hour drive brought us from Kaysville to Carson City.
(red lines in the inset show our side trips to the Ponderosa Ranch and Virginia city.)

Bring up the name Cartwright, and the first image that will pop into the minds of most people is probably of the actors who portrayed the men — Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe — on the long-running TV show, Bonanza.  The next image will probably be of the map that bursts into flame at the beginning of each of the TV episodes, accompanied by the well-known theme song (click here if you need to refresh your memory).

Left to Right: Pernell Roberts (Adam); Michael Landon (Little Joe);
Lorne Greene (Ben); and Dan Blocker (Hoss).

The idea for the burning map originated with an unsung artist in the
Hollywood studio where the pilot for Bonanza was filmed.

Well, we spent our day at Ponderosa Ranch, or more specifically, at the “western theme ranch” developed on the set where some of the scenes for the show were filmed.  Our day started out with a horseback ride that culminated with a chuckwagon breakfast at a spot overlooking Lake Tahoe.  Following our ride back to the stables, we wandered around the old west town that was supposed to be a replica of Virginia City, and toured the Cartwright ranch house.  Yes, it was all very touristy, but we had fun nonetheless.

Here’s part I — our horseback ride into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  (Mui rode Button and I rode My Sweetie … both were perfectly suited for novice riders.)